Algeria announced its official participation in the Targeted Trade Initiative within the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (“AfCFTA”).
Algerian Minister of Commerce, Taieb Zitouni, during the economic forum on the “Targeted Trade Initiative within the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area,” held in the capital Algiers, stated that with this membership, economic operators can engage in trade exchanges with their counterparts in partner countries of the initiative without customs restrictions, in accordance with the “AfCFTA” agreement.
The Algerian minister urged the country’s economic operators to take advantage of the benefits offered in trade exchanges with the countries participating in this initiative, to enhance Algerian exports outside the hydrocarbons sector and realize the objectives of the “AfCFTA” agreement, which aims to significantly increase trade levels between African countries.
It’s noted that the Targeted Trade Initiative was launched during the 10th meeting of the Council of Ministers of the “AfCFTA” held on October 7, 2022, in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
This initiative aims to test the procedural, institutional, and legal environment for implementing the “AfCFTA” agreement by actually commencing trade exchanges based on the preferential advantages set in the founding agreement of the area among the party states that have met the minimum conditions to begin these exchanges.
As of today, Egypt, Tunisia, Kenya, Ghana, Cameroon, Rwanda, Mauritius, and Tanzania have also joined this initiative.
The AfCFTA, initiated by the African Union in 2012 and signed by 44 member states in 2018, aims to create a continental market for goods and services, potentially transforming Africa into the world’s largest free trade area. The AfCFTA is structured to boost intra-African trade, with an ambitious target of tariff liberalization for 97% of trade in goods and advancing negotiations in priority sectors for trade in services. It is structured to boost intra-African trade, with an ambitious target of tariff liberalization for 97% of trade in goods and advancing negotiations in priority sectors for trade in services. The AfCFTA is structured to boost intra-African trade, with an ambitious target of tariff liberalization for 97% of trade in goods and advancing negotiations in priority sectors for trade in services.
